Silvery Argus (pseudoaricia nicias)
2008 photos highlighted green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 8300_male_Valais, Switzerland_22Jul07 | 3131_male_Alpes Maritimes_26Jul06 |
An exquisite little butterfly of the mountains. The upperside colour is often shown as a dullish silvery blue with narrow darker borders in most books, but I have generally found it to be quite blue and with very broad borders. Before 2006 I had only seen it once at the Col de Vars, but in 2006 I found it in good numbers (ten or more) in two or three Alpine locations, and again in 2007. I only fleetingly saw one in Switzerland in 2008, none in France. The female is plain brown and I have never knowingly seen one, so I'm relying on the books here.
8300: a typical male nicias with wide dark borders. It is quite small and this, coupled with the silvery blue, makes it easy to identify. Altitude 2200m.
3131: the uns ground colour is very light and the marginal lunules are quite faint.
8300_male_Valais, Switzerland_22Jul07
3131_male_Alpes Maritimes_26Jul06
